Does This Brand Make My Butt Look Bad?

Just when you thought it was safe to surf the Internet or open a magazine, a brand campaign shocks your senses. Sometimes, business owners commit web design misdemeanors; they place contact information in the nether regions of websites. Other businesses fashion full-on brand felonies by relying on gender-specific marketing stereotypes to lure women consumers. Whatever their violations, these brands are worthy candidates for What Not to Wear: Brand Campaign Division (BCD).

What are these business owners’ real crimes: Failing to ask, “Does this brand make my butt look bad?”

Every business owner shepherds a brand campaign that raises the ire of the What Not to Wear: BCD. Advertising trends change at the rate of boot cut meets skinny jeans. Even the rule of optimizing web design for single-browsing length is now being challenged by responsive web design. Some rules of brand campaign never go out of style.

1) Take a good, honest look at your brand. – She steps into the room of mirrors looking at her reflection as others see it. Mirrors never lie and neither do consumers. Undress your brand of your opinions and examine it. Check it out from the backside. Look at every nook, cranny and fault you may have overlooked. Women consumers can see them clearly. Conduct a focus group with female shoppers. If shoppers’ opinions of your brand campaign do not reflect yours, chances are you have fashioned a spot in the What Not to Wear: BCD files.

2) Take Inventory of Your Website – Somewhere on your homepage—under the clutter of design acrobatics and copy fluff—is a message that will convince women consumers to become your customers. If only they did not have to stumble over web clutter to get to it. An inventory of your homepage can free your website of extraneous elements that do not encourage conversions. What should remain are your brand’s best features, products and services. Although responsive web design challenges the notion of above-the fold design, your website should free consumers from the pains of too much clicking and scrolling. “Think of your homepage in terms of cities: It should be an Oahu, not a Las Vegas,” says Stephanie Buck in American Express OPEN Forum.

3) Keep the focus on your brand. – When design fits a brand campaign, it doesn’t call attention to itself. The design melts into the groove of a brand and tells the story of a business that consumers want to hear. Design is a reflection of your brand. Every element of your business should mirror consumers’ desires and ideals.

The public is brutally honest. Before you present your brand campaign to the world, strut it before the most important members of your team, your consumers. Ask them, “Does this brand make my butt look bad?” Mirrors never lie. Neither do consumers.

Ayesha Mathews-Wadhwa is chief pixel bender of PixInk, a design microagency serving a macro niche: businesses marketing to women, who make or influence an impressive 83 percent of purchasing decisions. PixInk nurtures emerging brands and strengthens iconic ones through powerful design, unique insight, and a deep understanding of the female consumer.